Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about superheroes.

Maybe it’s because I’m writing a superhero screenplay. Or maybe it’s because I’m a huge freaking nerd - who can say? In any case, I’ve been thinking about the old idea that superheroes are modern updates of folktales and myths, and I’ve realised something.

They’re more than that. They are, I think, the defining story of our age.

Pretty big call, huh? Well, think about it. Every great period in history had a story that shaped it, a story reflective of the hopes and aspirations of its people. Alexander the Great forged an empire on the story of the Iliad. So important was that story that he saw himself as a Homeric hero - he even detoured from his path of conquest just to visit all the sites mentioned by Homer. And after Alexander conquered the world, he in turn became a new story for a new generation of shining Greek democracies.

Fast forward past the Roman Empire (which also venerated the stories of the Iliad and Alexander) and we get to arguably the most influential story in history: the life of Jesus Christ. On the strength of that story, Charlemagne of the Franks forged an empire and lifted Europe out of the Dark Ages. And in turn, he and his circle of paladins would be remembered in the defining stories of the French nation, the chanson de geste of the Medieval bards.

Which brings us to the last - and probably our most culturally-important - story, the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. These stories shaped the lives our British ancestors and they still affect us today - when we unconsciously talk of ‘finding the Holy Grail’, or ‘Camelot’, or ‘knights in shining armour’.

These are all examples of stories that changed history. And they share many common elements: They’re nebulous, changing and evolving with the times. Everyone knows the basic tropes of them, if not the specifics. They penetrate the culture, inspiring imitations and endless retellings. They show us the best of ourselves, reflecting what humanity could be. And finally, they come in many different forms and variations; often they’re contradictory and confusing; yet every different version is somehow still correct, a separate facet of an overall truth.

Sounds like Superman. Or Batman. Or Spiderman.

Is that going over-the-top? Do I really have the right to compare some trashy comic books to the greatest stories in history? I don’t know, but it’s what I believe. And that’s why I’ll keep reading and writing about superheroes.

My prediction: We’re going to see even more of a public acceptance of superheroes in the coming years. More films, more games, more mainstream acceptance of comics. I think the ceiling on this thing is pretty damn high. And if they do end up being the most important stories of our age… Well, with the state the world’s in, that could only be a good thing.

An Unrelated Addendum: This post should have been up two day ago, but my internet connection has unfortunately been misbehaving.

And speaking of unfortunate things, some asshole just got hired to make the Castlevania movie. This is bad because I have, for some years now, harboured a secret desire to one day write this film. Seriously, I had it all plotted out in my head. Now along comes the guy who nailed shut the coffin on the Alien franchise and steals my fucking Castlevania. And you know what, Paul W. S. Anderson? Nobody needs that many middle initials, you untalented bastard.